VICTORIA — Nanaimo-Ladysmith MP Sheila Malcolmson’s phone started ringing five months ago, when the rumours began that MLA Leonard Krog was going to run for mayor in a bid to stabilize the Harbour City’s scandal-plagued city hall.

The calls were from local residents, supporters and the B.C. NDP, wanting to know if Malcolmson would try her hand in provincial politics as Krog’s replacement.

Malcolmson said she had little interest at the time — she was busy fighting the federal government’s surprise announcement that it intended to buy the Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain Pipeline.

“June was a particularly painful time in the House of Commons and so I honestly refused any conversation about it,” she said Wednesday.

“But I got a call from the premier in early July, and we had a long lunch in Nanaimo. We talked about what a progressive government can implement if you are inside government.”

The allure of swapping long commutes to sit as an Opposition NDP backbencher in Ottawa with a seat as an MLA — and perhaps one day a cabinet minister — in Premier John Horgan government in Victoria, ultimately proved irresistible.

On Wednesday, Malcolmson announced her candidacy for the B.C. NDP in the Nanaimo byelection, flanked at a press conference by Horgan and Krog.

Horgan called her “the ideal candidate” to replace Krog, who won Saturday’s mayoral race.

“I was trying to think who could be the most qualified, able, capable person to step into those shoes,” said Horgan. “I’m so pleased when I asked Sheila Malcolmson she said yes.”

Malcolmson took pains on Wednesday to say her departure from the federal NDP was not reflection on national leader Jagmeet Singh.

Instead, she said the opportunity to work inside a government to oppose the pipeline, address housing affordability, craft a climate strategy, strengthen B.C.’s ocean protection plan and further work on cleaning up abandoned ocean vessels made her want to switch to provincial politics.

The Nanaimo byelection has yet to be officially called and Malcolmson has yet to be officially nominated as the B.C. NDP’s candidate. But it now appears likely the race will begin in January.

In the meantime, Krog is expected to serve as both Nanaimo’s mayor and MLA (he’s forgoing his MLA salary) until the legislature adjourns on Nov. 29. Krog will be on standby to travel to Victoria if his vote is needed to prop up Horgan’s minority government, which has a two-vote lead over the Opposition B.C. Liberals due to its power-sharing agreement with the B.C. Greens.

The Nanaimo byelection will be a high-stakes race. The B.C. NDP has won the riding in every election except two since 1963. But if the Liberals were to win, the party would tie the NDP-Green alliance with 43 seats in the legislature, likely prompting an early general election.

“The nomination of the current member of Parliament proves just how much the NDP take Nanaimo for granted — putting local taxpayers on the hook for potentially not one but two byelections at a cost of well over a million dollars,” said Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson.

Wilkinson said a Liberal MLA would “be a true champion for the community’s needs and priorities” rather than another of the NDP’s “hand-picked friends and allies.”

Green Leader Andrew Weaver said his party will field a candidate in the byelection, in order to increase the choices available for Nanaimo voters.

Malcolmson said she’ll serve as MP until the provincial race officially begins. She said she hopes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau would choose not to set a byelection before the Oct. 21, 2019 general election.

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